WASHINGTON–Americans are living in multi-generational households at a level not seen in decades, according to new research.
The Pew Research Center is reporting that in 2016 a record 64-million people, or one-in five, lived in multigenerational homes in the United States.
Pew defines a multigenerational household as including “at least two adult generations or grandparents and grandchildren younger than 25.”
Pew’s study noted that multigenerational living has been on the rise for several decades, with Asian and Hispanic households more likely than white households to be multigenerational.
In releasing its findings, Pew stated that increasing ethnic and racial diversity among the U.S. population could account for some of the increase in multigenerational households, however, multigenerational households are growing “among nearly all U.S. racial groups, Hispanics, most age groups, and both men and women.”
Among the other findings released by Pew:
- 29% of Asians living in America in 2016 lived in a multigenerational household. Among Hispanics and blacks, the number was 27% and 26%, respectively. Only 16% of white Americans lived in multigenerational households in the same year, according to Census data.
- Multigenerational households declined steadily during the middle of the previous century, dropping from 21% in 1950 to 12% in 1980. The Great Recession resulted in a sharp uptick in this sort of living situation, and multigenerational households have continued to make up more of the American housing landscape in the years since.
- According to Pew, in 2009, multigenerational households accounted for 17% of the U.S. population (around 51.5 million Americans), based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. By 2014, that percentage had increased to 19%, or around 60.6 million Americans.
The full Pew Research can be found here.